The simplest searching you can do at greatkidsCT is by typing a term, or terms, into the search box and selecting the "Go" button. You then search the entire greatkidsCT database to locate information on your topic. A simple search might look like this:

You can learn more about what's you see in your search results by taking a look at the Reading the Results section of the greatkidsCT Help pages.

greatkidsCT also gives you the chance to search for information within three general categories - Learning, Parenting, and Health & Safety. For example you might be interested in finding information on vaccination schedules. Since that information has to do with a child's health and safety you can search for it within that specific category.

To perform a category search all you need to do is type your search into the search box. Then using the dropdown menu select the category you would like to search within. Then press the "Go" button. Here's an example:

When you perform that search the search results page will only show you resources that are in the Health & Safety category. You can learn more about what's on the search results page in the Reading the Results section of the greatkidsCT Help pages.

When you search in a specific category if you decide to try a new search directly from the search results page, you will automatically search within the category you chose. For example, if you searched for vaccinations in the Health & Safety category on the search results page the search area will look like this:

All you have to do to select a different category, or to search within all the categories, is to click on the arrow next to the "Health & Safety" box and highlight what category you would like to search in next. (Don't forget if you select "All Categories" you will then look for items in Learning, Parenting, and Health & Safety.

For each of the greatkidsCT categories we have developed a list of subjects that are often of interest to parents. To see these subjects all you need to do is select one of the category tabs from any greatkidsCT page. This is what the category tabs look like:

When you select one of the tabs you will go to the main page for that category. On that page you will see a list of subject headings. Select the one that you are interested in and greatkidsCT will automatically perform a search on that subject for you. A sample from the Learning page is below.

Anytime you want to go back to the full list of subjects all you have to do is select the category tab.

When you are on a category page you'll notice that the category listing in the search area displays the heading for the category of the page at which you are looking. If you would like to try a search from that page you can stay within the category listed or select a new category by clicking on the arrow next to the category label and highlighting the category area in which you would like to search.

At the top of the greatkidsCT search area you'll see special options for performing some advanced searching. As shown in the images below these are "All," "Description," "Source," and "Title."

The default for any greatkidsCT search is "All." In most instances you will want to keep your search at this default setting. When searching with "All" selected you are telling greatkidsCT to search all areas of the database for the term(s) you used.

If you select "Description" you will only search through the descriptions of the web pages included in greatkidsCT. This is helpful if you are looking for a resource and you are fairly certain that the description of the site is likely to include a certain term or terms.

If you select "Source" you will only search through the information in the greatkidsCT database that specifies who is responsible for the page. That means if you are looking for a web site that is sponsored by a particular organization or agency, perhaps the Connecticut State Department of Education, you can select source to locate just the sites from that agency or organization.

By selecting the "Title" option you search for web pages that have your search terms in their title. For example, you might know there is a web page with the title "Reading Aloud Tips for Parents." If you type in that title and select the "Title" option you will only locate the web page (or pages) that has that title.